Beloved ‘Black Panther’ gets Golden Globe nod for best film

Kenyan actor Lupita Nyong’o was among the first to celebrate the news that the “Black Panther” movie has been nominated for three Golden Globe film awards – including an unprecedented nomination for best picture for a film that began its life on comic book pages.

“Much love from Wakanda to the Golden Globes!” said Nyong’o, who starred in the film alongside Zimbabwean Danai Gurira and actor Chadwick Boseman, above.

Black Panther is nominated for Best Motion Picture-Drama. Other contenders in the category include the “A Star is Born” remake starring Lady Gaga and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the film about the life of musician Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Black Panther also received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, according to Thursday’s announcement from the Golden Globe Awards.

The Black Panther character and his kingdom began in 1966 on the pages of Marvel Comics, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute in the United States. It was the first black hero in mainstream comics, created by the legendary Stan Lee, and the foundation of the popular Marvel-Disney film. Lee died last month in Los Angeles at age 95.

Much of Black Panther includes footage from South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. The “Black Panther” film set box office records across Africa and made USD$1.3 billion worldwide through May.

The news came right on the heels of the announcement of the first Black Panther scholarship award, which was presented by Nyong’o, Gurira and Boseman on Wednesday night. It was given to a 17-year-old student during a Women in Entertainment event in Hollywood. “We know that if we want to live in a world that looks more like Wakanda, the first step is you invest in women and girls,” said Gurira during the Hollywood Reporter event.

Earlier this week, Black Panther was named to the American Film Institute’s list of Top 10 films for 2018.